Imagine humanity through the eyes of aliens.
Reawaken, imagine humanity through the eyes of aliens. Wouldn’t we look magical from space? From afar, humans seem to generate light. On closer inspection, however, you would see that they actually have frail bodies, and they dominate their habitat through the use of tools. Over time perhaps you could see the shift. The dawn of an industrialised civilisation. For a time humankind flourished in their mass-produced utopia. They have built great tools, of a scale easily visible from space. Subsequently, these creatures became enslaved to automatisation. With no need for thinking, their brains grew weaker, and their ability to dream of radically new technologies lessened. The magic of these tools faded in utility, as humans became estranged from the technological landscape surrounding them.
How will they re-insert themselves and reconnect with their tools? Will they start imagining again when they are empowered to understand their tools? Let us take a step back in time and space to obsolete technologies. Can we gain something, anything from resurrecting lost techniques?
Wouldn’t we look magical from space?
My inspiration for this mechanical sculpture derives from how our devices are increasingly mimicking each other. A phone is a small tablet, a tablet is a small laptop, and so on. These are devices we encounter in our everyday lives. The question of whether this makes us poor in fantasy, together with the technological developments that are increasingly invisible, such as algorithms, have been my starting point. My further research connects with the historical development and context of printing machines, typewriters and psychosis. This led to the creation of this mechanical and extraterrestrial structure that produces prints.
Nominations: Bachelor Research & Hybrid Publishing Award 2018 & Drempelprijs
